1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally involves the field of technology pertaining to devices and machines for dividing agricultural products into discrete pieces of predetermined size. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved apparatus for cutting elongate vegetables, such as carrots, zucchini, potatoes, celery and the like, into a plurality of longitudinal strips.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Machines for cutting or slicing products particularly agricultural produce, into plural pieces of various shapes and sizes are well known in the art.
A particular type of such machines is conventionally known as a "water gun" or hydraulic cutting system and is particularly useful for cutting potatoes into slabs or strips. A water gun operates by pumping a mixture of water and the product to be cut through a pipe. The product is propelled at a fairly high rate of speed and caused to impact against a stationary knife assembly which cuts the product into the required size portions during its travel through the pipe. The resulting mixture of water and cut product is then discharged for separating the cut product from the water. Water guns are particularly useful in the production of french fries, since they are capable of propelling the water and potato mixture through the knife assembly at a high production rate.
The stationary knife assembly utilized in a typical water gun is defined by a cutting head block onto which a plurality of elongate knife elements are secured in parallel pairs that are disposed in a staggered relationship and at a 90.degree. offset with respect to adjacent pairs of knife elements. The cutting edges of the knife elements collectively define a plurality of rectangular-shaped boxes for producing strips of the product having corresponding transverse crosssectional configurations. The interengagement of adjacent knife elements is accomplished by providing each knife element with at least one open slot in its base portion and at least one open slot in its blade portion so that the blade portion of one knife element may be interengaged within the corresponding base portion of an adjacent knife element. The knife elements disposed at the furthermost upstream end of the head block are only provided with slots in their base portions, while the knife elements disposed at the furthermost downstream end of the head block are only provided with slots in their blade portions. A conventional water gun system utilizing a stationary knife assembly of this type is disclosed by the Fischer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,793.
Another known apparatus for cutting elongate products lengthwise into separate strips is disclosed by the Urschel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,469. This apparatus utilizes a single conveyor onto which green or wax beans are fed and longitudinally aligned by a plurality of trough walls. The aligned beans are thereafter conveyed to a rotating knife assembly comprised of a grooved slitting roller and a cooperating bank of circular slitting knives between which the beans are slit into strips.
Conventional systems and machines for dividing elongate products into plural strips are large and expensive, particularly in the case of a water gun system. They are also complex in design and often do not have the ability to operate at high production capacities.